CLASSES MAY SOON GO ONLINE

SOUTH COUNTY 
Sweetwater U, the informally dubbed plan to build a college campus in the South Bay, is poised to offer online classes to high school students as soon as next semester, according to the Sweetwater Union High School District.

Sweetwater trustees voted last fall to support the establishment of Sweetwater University, an institution that would “partner with local businesses and organizations to provide opportunities for students who complete its programs to be guaranteed a job upon graduation.” At the time, Superintendent Ed Brand said the district wanted to explore asking voters to approve a school bond to build a bricks-and-mortar university in the region, but that all options were on the table.

Last week, Sweetwater spokesman Manuel Rubio said the district was looking to contract with an accredited program that would provide its 11th and 12th graders with online college-level courses in core subjects such as math, science and English that they could take at their own pace. Among the traits the district was seeking in a cyber institution were course credits that could transfer to a UC or state university, and tuition comparable to that of a community college.

Contenders as of last week were DeVry University, Grand Canyon University and Carrington College, but Sweetwater leaders were still looking at other institutions, Rubio said. Board approval would most likely occur before a contract is signed, he said.

“The idea is to give students the opportunity to be both in high school and college at the same time,” Rubio said. “Juniors and seniors are already in that mindset.

“A student could walk out of high school with 1½ years of college credits,” Rubio said. “We think that’s really positive.”